Monday, April 23, 2012

Gulliver Speaks with the Ancients

Chapter V

The author is granted opportunity to visit the Academy of
Lagado where new experiments are conducted in hopes that these results might
make the lives of the people simpler; however many of the experiments are years
in progress with no end in sight, and most are absurd, whereas they will never
succeed. For example, Gulliver observes
one man attempting to extract sun-beams out of cucumbers and putting them into
vials to be released during mild summers; another man is trying to “reduce
human excrement to its original food by separating the several parts”; or how
about softening marble for pillows or pin cushions? And finally in the school
of languages, professors are plotting to cut out syllables and parts of speech,
or even eliminating words altogether, so that people instead carry hefty
bundles of objects to display in conversation as opposed to using their lungs
and tongue, which takes up too much energy and shortens lives.

Chapter VI

Gulliver is greatly downhearted over the doomed people of Lagado
who seem to find hope in continually doing things in senseless ways, such as
taxing men based on their own virtues and other highly valued characteristics
and taxing women according to their personal physical attributes. He was so discouraged, he soon considered
returning to England.

Chapter VII

After preparing to leave Lagado and travel to Luggnagg,
Gulliver postpones his plans until a ship is available to him, and instead he
journeys with two other willing travelers to Glubbdubdrib, an island inhabited
with sorcerers and magicians whose governor is able to call up the dead. After meeting the governor, he proposes that
Gulliver request whomever he desires to call from the dead, which he obliges,
and, hence, he observes Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Caesar, Pompey, and even
speaks with Brutus. Awesome!

Chapter VIII

While it is a great opportunity to converse with the
ancients like Homer, Aristotle, and Descartes, the decision to call up numerous
kings and their ancestors of Europe proves to be an unforeseen displeasure for
Gulliver. After such an experience, Gulliver
looks upon modern history as a perversion of the truth; whereas men who were considered
war heroes are truly cowards, those of piety are atheists, or those of wise
counsel are fools, to list only a few; whereas many blameless and good people
were condemned to death; and that many scoundrels had been trusted to high
office. In the end, this knowledge
causes Gulliver to foster a low opinion of human wisdom and integrity.